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Cole Pruitt (Dead Frontier)
Cole Pruitt (July 25, 1987—October 29, 2013) was the main protagonist of Dead Frontier. He is also a guest character in City of Angels, appearing within flashbacks. Cole was a call center employee and aspiring screenwriter hopelessly forced into the apocalypse. Able to adapt quicker than most, his apathy towards life turned into a fierce will to survive. Even through the deaths of his long-term girlfriend, Hannah, and his lifelong best friend, Micah, Cole was appreciative of the strong friendships he'd created with fellow survivors Adam Dugall and Billie Starr. After the death of Billie and a debilitating injury to his knee, Cole found himself more pessimistic and dark than ever before. However, effectively rekindling his fragile and complicated relationship with Lucy gave him a more positive outlook. In his final days, he revealed that starting a life with her was all that kept him going. Those hopes were completely shattered when a herd crossed paths with the group and Cole was mauled. Background Cole, for the most part, lived a drab and monotonous life, agreeing to just going through the motions of work and doing what he needed to get by. While still in his teenage years, Cole's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. The illness was debilitating and led to her death when Cole was still in college. The absence of his father, who eventually abandoned Cole and his mother altogether during this time, filled him with harsh resentment toward him, leading Cole only to talk about his dad on rare instances. Growing up and throughout adulthood, Cole was best friends with Micah Jones. They grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools, and eventually graduated college side by side. Besides Micah, the only other person Cole considered himself close to was Hannah Fleetwood, his girlfriend of nearly six years. After a fight, and increasing disapproval of Cole from Hannah's parents, Mick and Wanda, in a fit of drunken stupidity, Cole had sex with another woman. Hannah found out, and she officially ended their relationship. Post-Apocalypse Part One Cole's first encounter with an infected occurs in Issue 1. He kills an infected that attempts to bite him during his walk from work, and he rushes from his apartment afterward, traumatized and frightful of a possible murder conviction. He calls his best friend, Micah Jones, immediately. Micah heads to Cole's apartment with alochol and his favorite movie--''Pulp Fiction''--to calm him down some. Before the night is over, they learn of the outbreak and its severity. Cole proceeds to call Hannah Fleetwood, his ex-girlfriend whom he still has clear affections for, and makes sure she's alright. They agree to leave the city and meet up at her parents' house in a nearby suburb. Cole's arrival at the Fleetwood residence, home to Hannah's parents Mick and Wanda, leads to high tensions. Aware that he's not welcome, Cole tries his best to ignore her parents' snarky remarks. Soon after, one of the neighbors, Lara, reveals she was bit and looks for refuge inside the Fleetwood home. No one's sure what to do, but Mick ultimately makes the decision to shoot Lara, much to everyone's horror. Their next course of action is to stock up on as much food and supplies as they can, so he and Hannah volunteer to search a local Walmart. Their ride takes a turn for the worst when a herd of infected surround their car. A mysterious man on top of a nearby store turns out to be their savior; he picks off a decent amount of infected, allowing Cole and Hannah to pass through. It doesn't take long for them to hear a small ruckus in the store when they reach their destination, and they realize they're in the company of two strangers: Billie Starr and Dwight Miller. Cole and Hannah are then informed about Billie and Dwight's residence at a nearby Super 8 motel. Cole and Hannah accept the invitation. Before heading to the motel, where they're assimilated quickly, they go back for the mysterious man on the rooftop that saved their lives. His name is Gord Ramos, and they bring him along to the motel as well, where they become friendly with most of the residents. Cole's only real issue is with Roger Baldwin and his numerous crude remarks toward Hannah. Their first task is to head back into the city to find out the fate of Dommy Moretti's family. On the way there, Cole begins his friendship with Billie, and they are ultimately separated when a herd barrels through the highway. Cole injures his leg during their escape, forcing them to take refuge on the roof of a truck. When a group of men, led by a man named Ivan, make hostile advances on them, Cole shoots two, marking his first murders. Cole's condition worsens. A little while after Billie snaps on him for making sure she's okay after her interaction with Ivan, he passes out and wakes up in the Evans' household, home to Randy, Rita, and their son, Luke. He's extremely grateful for their help, and when he departs, he's saddened they didn't want to come with. He and Billie return after nearly two days away from the motel. He reunites with Micah and Hannah; he's just as surprised as she is to see that she's alright. It doesn't take long for them to rekindle their relationship officially. They're miraculous return soon takes a turn for the worst as tensions run high. Roger has become increasingly unstable, and Mick finds himself unable to deal with Roger's remarks toward his daughter any longer. Cole watches, horrified, as Roger kills Mick in cold blood and Billie, in turn, shoots Roger in the head. Cole comforts Hannah in the aftermath of the tragedy. Subsequently, the gunshot brings along a larger-than-normal herd, and Cole hides with Hannah in one of the rooms. Most of the herd is eventually taken out. Dwight finds Cole afterwards and informs him that Micah was bitten. Cole is absolutely devasted, but they're forced to leave the motel. Cole says one final goodbye to his best friend--as he drives away, he hears the ringing of the self-inflicted gunshot that ends Micah's life. The group makes camp in a Walmart, where they come across an injured young man named Finn. The next morning, Finn breaks down in front of Cole and informs him of the demise of his little brother. Cole offers Finn some comfort before heading back out, where, after a few minutes, a group of soldiers raid the store. Part Two The soldiers turn out to be quite unfriendly, and Cole and the group re kidnapped and taken to a mysterious underground laboratory. Cole finds it difficult to keep himself calm during this time, but he manages, even once he learns they're planned to be used as test subjects. One of the younger scientists in the lab, Chloe Connors, breaks them out once she realizes the immorality of the testing. On the road again, Cole is devastated to learn from Chloe, after the suicide of Mercer West, that the virus is inside everyone--meaning, everyone will turn once they die, if the brain is still intact. She also informs them of a possible safe zone at O'Hare International Airport. Cole decides to seclude himself to deal with his multitude of stresses, only to be comforted by Hannah soon after. While deparated from the rest of the group, they see a bitten woman on the road being chased by her young, infected daughter. Cole brings her back to the group and goes back to kill the girl; when he returns, he sees Dwight threatening Hannah with a gun due to Hannah's protests to not kill the bitten woman. Cole approaches him angirly, but Dwight easily counters, leaving Cole nearly incapacitated. They take refuge in a house for a while and Cole, not knowing of many other ways to get rid of his anger, finds out that killing infected is a good outlet. He blows off Hannah's worries and even lashes out at her verbally. They eventually reach the airport, welcomed eagerly by a crew of Airmen, led by Abe Welsh, and a slew of normal residents. Billie goes back to retrieve the Evans family, but when she returns without them, Cole is sufficiently angered. Three months after their arrival, things are looking up. However, while getting ready for a shower, Cole and Hannah spot the dead body of a resident named Kyle. Terrified, they report their finding to Abe, who orders them to not say a word about it. As the possibility of a murderer lingers over his head, Cole has decided to resort to writing again, his one true passion. When he finds Hannah reading his notebook, he's angry but mostly embarrassed, and orders her to return it, to her disappointment. News spreads of one of the airport's helicopters possibly crashing in a forest nearby. Cole is one of the many that offer to search. They find Charlie Bodin and some members of his camp have already reached the crashed aircraft, and their position in the woods in soon given away. Cole escapes safely along with nearly everyone else, but is shocked to hear that Hannah killed a teenage boy, Bodin's son, in fear that he would've been a threat. Not long after they return, another threat finds its way into their walls in the form of three new arrivals: Dex Sasaki, Miles Sizemore, and Quinn Pacheco, three men from Bodin's camp masquerading as helpless survivors. It is quickly discovered that their true intentions were to kidnap Hannah and bring her back to Bodin, alive, which they do successfully. Cole is absolutely furious when he finds out Hannah is missing. He pleads to Abe to allow for some kind of rescue mission, but when Abe initially denies, Cole attacks him in his rage. Abe then agrees, believing Cole and whomever else goes will get themselves killed in the process. They invade Bodin's camp, and Cole and Adam find Hannah, traumatized and now missing one hand. Cole manages to keep himself together long enough to urge Hannah upstairs; when they get there, Bodin has returned. He attacks Cole initially, but Adam shoots him before he can do true damage. They take Hannah and escort her through the chaos in the camp, and back to safety. Part Three Cole is devastated during the ride back to the airport and tries desperately to comfort Hannah, to no avail. When they reach O'Hare safely, Cole learns that she was raped and assaulted. A few days later, while sleeping, Dex and Dylan Ackerman, another resident of Bodin's camp, return to the airport and slaughter nearly everyone as revenge. During the massacre, Ackerman taunts Cole by mentioning his assault toward Hannah, and after Billie shoots Ackerman, only injuring him, Cole subsequently gets his revenge by delivering the fatal gunshots. Cole, along with Hannah, Adam, Billie, Chloe, Finn, Robbie, and Devon, knows they're no longer welcome at the airport due to the recent dramatic events. They decide to live, living on the road for a month and a half. They take refuge in an old office building. Hannah has obviously changed--and Cole is completely clueless on what to do. During a quick trip to his old apartment, he finds an old photobooth strip of the both of them and some pictures of Hannah and her family; he gives them to her, glad to see she looks happy for the first time in a while. Besides that, he's also become increasingly frustrated with her yearning to go on supply runs. With her heavy drinking and possible suicidal thoughts, Cole doesn't believe she's stable enough to be a functioning member of the group. He's adamantly against it, but she gets through to him one day and he agrees to her leaving on a run with Billie and Finn. While Hannah's gone, Cole reveals to Robbie that he wants to propose. Robbie gives him his grandmother's old ring to use, and Cole is more than grateful for it. However, night passes and the three don't return from their run, doubling Cole's anxiety. The next day, Billie is back at the office building, with two strangers: brother and sister duo Hiro and Tora Kamura. Hannah nor Finn is there, confirming Cole's worst fears. Hannah's death leaves Cole wholly depressed and angry. For the first time in his life he resorts to smoking as a stress reliever, which quickly becomes a bad habit he can't kick. He tries to comfort Billie as well due to the death of Finn, but his efforts are usually futile since she's just as traumatized as he is. Cole becomes a recluse for a short while, refusing to talk to nearly anyone, even newcomers to the group Lienne and Alec, and Billie confronts him about it harshly. She accuses him of being childish for secluding himself when others have been through so much worse. He's hurt, but he takes her words to heart. Still, a rift forms in their friendship, and they resort to not speaking. They come across a radio broadcast with two boisterious announcers, Duke Curry and Cash Benton, who are advertising the five star Hyatt Regency Hotel. It seems almost too good to be true, but with some kind of hope in the air, they can't pass it up. Cole and a few others, including Adam, Alec, and Lienne, head out to find the hotel. They reach it successfully after a bit of trouble, met with a man named Marsh, an influential resident at the Hyatt. He eagerly gives them entry and introduces them to their revered leader Alexander. Cole finds it hard to get used to the new, lavish living arrangements the hotel provides, but he does appreciate them. As he gets situated, he meets some of the hotel's many residents, including radio DJs Duke and Cash, Joe Fitz, and a beautiful, charming woman named Lucy, whom he learns is the daughter of Alexander. He's drawn to her immediately, hoping she's someone that can finally provide him with some comfort after a hectic and terrible few months. Cole also finds a way to mend his friendship with Billie, deciding that it'd be easier to get through the losses of Hannah and Finn with each other's help. When Cole hears of a mysterious, hostile woman named Roxie that could possibly be a threat to the hotel, his interest is piqued. He also continues forming a bond with Lucy, pursuing a sexual relationship as well, fully aware that it'll likely tear his mind away from Hannah. He uses this to his advantage because, after a visit to her suite, he steals the key to her father's office and breaks in. He searches for any information regarding 'Roxie' but only finds papers that he can't make sense of. Lucy catches him in the act and says she had no idea about Roxie or the dangers she might bring. She promises not to say anything to her father, but Cole quickly finds out it's a lie--the next day, Hiro tracks Cole down and assaults him, saying this was a warning from Alexander to stop sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Cole easily deduces that Lucy ratted him out and wants nothing more to do with her. Word spreads of Marsh's true intentions to take control of the hotel. There's no evidence of this, so it's really just rumors until Marsh releases a herd of infected upon the hotel. Cole's resentment for Marsh heightens, the same as many others who realize Marsh's wickedness. While on a supply run--the runners specifically picked out by Marsh--Cole and Billie share a kiss before a gunshot is heard throughout the store. Hector Petit is the one to fire the shot, much to everyone's confusion. Adam is the victim and Cole, obviously worried, tries to keep Adam alive and everyone else calm as they drive back to the hotel. It is soon learned that Marsh ordered Hector to kill them, aware that they were the only ones that knew about him releasing the infected into the hotel. Part Four Due to Adam's injury, Cole keeps careful watch over him and offers to help in any way he can, and Adam isn't shy about showing his gratefulness. Cole then confronts Billie and decides they should keep their relationship completely platonic. Deciding that Marsh isn't fit to lead the Hyatt, Cole and others come up with a plan to get rid of him. Cole takes the lead and decides he'll be the one to take Marsh out. After getting himself in the right mindset, he tracks Marsh down in his office, and he's surprised to see that Hector is there as well, with a stab wound. As Marsh is taunting him, Cole fires the fatal shot. Initially wanting to murder Hector, Cole has a change of heart and takes his pathetic, limp body to the infirmary, where he survives his wounds. For a few months, things seem to be looking up--but it doesn't last long. The Hyatt has a new revival under Alexander's leadership, but the mysterious Roxie finally makes herself known to the residents of the hotel after not receiving her monthly supply of goods. Cole watches in horror behind the hotel gates as she shoots the mother of Jake Rice as a cold-blooded warning that she isn't to be toyed with. Having lost his mother as well, and plainly feeling bad for the kid, Cole makes it his obligation to comfort Jake. A little while later, Jake finds out that Roxie is actually inside the hotel having a meeting with Alexander. Jake is furious, falling into a violent outburst. Cole calms him down, slightly disturbed when Lucy says Cole should allow him to let his anger out however he wants. Although he's only agreed to a purely sexual relationship and tells himself he doesn't have any true feelings for her, he feels awful when he makes a snide remark about her not knowing what true loss is, leading her to storm off. As an apology, Cole agrees to listen to her story and learns that cowardice prevented her from putting down her infected mother and brother. Now seeing her in a new light, he decides to pursue an actual relationship with her--eventually falling madly in love in a short amount of time. Cole, finally believing his feelings for Hannah are diminishing, replaces their photobooth strip with a polaroid of the rest of the group, ready to move on. With this comes more external problems for the hotel--Roxie is becoming an increasing threat. While on a supply run, Roxie and her men attack, mostly as a warning for not receiving the supplies they were promised. Cole actually escapes, but in the chaos Duke and several others are left behind. Cole, along with Hiro, decides to go back for them. Only receiving a blow to the head from one of Roxie's men, Cole escorts Duke out successfully but loses Hiro during the escape. With everyone else already departed, they're on their own, and Cole eventually passes out due to the injury to his head. When he awakens from a nightmare, he finds himself in a store with Duke. After some prodding, he reveals the details of the nightmare and the guilt he feels for being alive after so many people he's known have perished. Duke offers comforting words, and they trek through the cold and snow in hopes of reaching the hotel. That doesn't go as planned, however, when gunshots interrupt their journey. A group of mysterious men intercept their path, and Duke orders Cole to leave, assuring that he'll take care of it. Cole unsuccessfully fights them off, and they kidnap him for reasons unbeknownst to Cole at the time. Part Five Coming soon. Part Six Coming soon. Relationships Hannah Fleetwood Cole's late girfriend. Their relationship had always been tumultuous, but after six years together, they were utterly in love. Only when Cole admitted to his infidelity did Hannah completely break things off; however, once the apocalypse hit, they were brought together once again and their relationship was stronger than ever. Cole was Hannah's number one confidant and source of comfort, especially after the death of her parents, and in the aftermath of her capture by Dex Sasaki. As much as he tried, he could never get her to return to her old self, so she instead turned to drinking to ease any pain--a habit he often attempted to get her to break. Over a year later, he's still affected her death and subsequent reanimation. Adam Dugall To be written. Billie Starr To be written. Personality Hotheaded and easily frustrated, Cole is prone to thinking with his heart rather than his head, often letting emotion dictate his actions. This leads him to seclude himself during times of stress, out of fear that he'll hurt someone unintentionally; as much as he believes he can deal with his problems on his own, he longs for some kind of emotional support. Cole has a hard time proving his worth to himself, more so after the injury to his knee that will, presumably, leave him crippled for the rest of his life. He has difficulty expressing it, but his feelings of worthlessness have had obvious negative effects on his mood. Killed Victims *Riley *2 of Ivan's unnamed friends *Numerous counts of infected *One of Charlie's unnamed guards *Dylan Ackerman *Marsh *One of Roxie's unnamed men *Toby *Billie Starr (zombified) *Walter *Mae Newton (zombified) Trivia *Cole's theme is "Oats in the Water" by Ben Howard *Cole was a contestant in the UFSW Hunger Games, along with Billie Starr and Adam Dugall, where he placed 7th. **For more info, check out his Hunger Games page. *Fucking up Cole's leg was an impulsive decision I wrote-in mid-issue and I, surprisingly, rarely regretted it. *Cole was the Undead Fan Stories Wiki Featured Character for parts of August and parts of September. *Cole is PBR Sharpshoot's spirit character. **Cole and PBR also share the same birthday, July 25, because of the best fucking coincidence ever. **I swear to God this was a coincidence, too, but Cole's death also occurred on Zain's birthday, October 29. *In a total coincidence of course, Cole shares the same name and portrayer of another character on the wiki. *Cole won "Outstanding Death" in the Winter 2013 UFSW Awards. *Cole's secret identity is Donkey Kong. Category:Characters Category:Dead Frontier Characters Category:Dead Frontier Category:Protagonists Category:I'd Tap Dat Category:Gorgeous Category:Gay for PBR and PBR only Category:Vauseman Stories